By Rhys Moore
Rhys Moore is the CEO of St Johns Fragrance Company. Rhys attended a cocktail party hosted by The Andover Shop. The guest of honor, novelist James Ellroy – The New York Times bestselling author and aficionado of Ivy Style clothing – entertained guests with his wit and humor. Rhys shares his recollections from the event.
James Ellroy is a character from one his own detective novels. He is a colorful cat, extremely self-confident, and brash without being disrespectful or rude. He opened the evening with a reading of the first chapter of his new book, Red Sheet, set in 1960s Los Angeles. The first sentence begins with an “F Bomb” and that sets the tone for the characters. And then the story gets exciting, engaging, and complicated right away.
The Andover Shop hosted this invitation-only cocktail party and Ellroy did not disappoint. When asked why he shops at The Andover Shop, he remarked that the place was an institution, a hallmark retailer, and a stronghold of the traditional well dressed. The kind of place that remains consistent and reliable in a world that is neither. He later shared that when he dropped out of high school, he went to work at several men’s stores in the area because he realized that personal presentation was important and the characters he admired all dressed in a similar fashion. He wanted to learn about and from those places. He reminisced about LA stores long gone: Carroll & Co. and Lew Ritter.
Ellroy was born and raised in Los Angeles but no longer likes Los Angeles. He did not graduate from high school, which makes his literary accomplishments ever the more remarkable. His younger years were filled with high risk, low reward behaviors which fuels his rich character developments, and twisted plot lines. Ellroy taught himself how to write prose.
The evening wrapped with questions and then the customary book signing but not before reciting the Dylan Thomas poem “In My Craft or Sullen Art” by memory.
A few Q&A examples:
Q; What other authors do you read?
A: None – I don’t like other authors, I read my own books.
Q: What do you think of the films made from your novels?
A: They are all terrible.
Q: What about LA Confidential? That was a great movie.
A: Terrible. And the actors were bad.
(Note: Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, and James Cromwell)
Q: Have you been arrested?
A: Yes.
Q: Have you been to jail?
A: Many times.
Q: For what?
A: Lots of things.
Q: Do you get compared to Hunter Thompson?
A: I hope not.
And lastly, a poor soul, not me, asked a favor:
Q: Will you inscribe my book with “You are resolved from all things.”
A: No.
I think this wraps up Ellroy.
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Some photos from the event courtesy of Tucker Mscisz, COO of The Andover Shop.
I enjoyed Rhys Moore’s recollections of James Ellroy enormously! Mr. Moore’s description of the Q and A is hilarious. Sometimes it’s important to lighten up and not take ourselves too seriously. Bravo to Rhys Moore and James Ellroy for showing us how to do it.
Surely Kim Basinger and Guy Pearce also deserve mentions for their prominent roles in LA Confidential! And can you tell us more about the book that was being signed?
Red Sheet is a crime noir novel set in Los Angeles in the immediate aftermath of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Then Attorney General Robert Kennedy is afraid of reprisals from various domestic communists since the crisis had been resolved in favor of the United States, and Ellroy’s main character, Freddy Otash, is in charge of rooting out these internal threats in conjunction with the LA police department. The plot involves a rich combination of fact and fiction.
I think his answers were a way of saying the questions were boring, unimportant, or even stupid. Perhaps he thought provocative BS would be much more fun.
What would be the ideal men’s fragrance for the Ivy/Preppy style? Many consider Creed Green Irish Tweed to be the definitive scent for this aesthetic, but is that truly the case? Could you provide a more in-depth article exploring fragrances suited to this style?
Thank you for the suggestion. An Ivy Style article about fragrances is certainly overdue. Personally, I prefer L’homme by Yves Saint Laurent and Madras from St Johns.